If you’ve noticed the silence over here on Afrobella, please know it’s unintentional. Here’s what’s happening in the back end of my life. We moved into a new place at the end of July – my husband and I are new homeowners (YAY!! Check out my new column on Glam.com about home ownership, it’s called Easy Living)! In the midst of what turned into a month-long extended move out of our old place, my life kind of devolved into barely organized chaos. We went on vacation (right before moving! Bad idea jeans) then we decided to move out on our own pace. Second bad idea. Dragging out your move just makes it feel like FOREVER.
Let’s talk about moving in general. Here’s what I learned, from the end of July to the end of August.
Photo of moving boxes via Shutterstock
5 Moving Tips From Someone Who Just Moved And Knows Moving Is The WORST
1 – Not sure where to begin packing? Pack a suitcase. Pack like you’re going on a trip for 3 weeks. Include a variety of clothing – jeans, tees, cute tops, a few chic dresses, workout clothes, work clothes. Think of this as a suitcase you’re checking and pack those full size toiletries. Think about at least three weeks of what you need to get by, and set it aside. That way when you get to your new place and the rest of your life is in shambles boxes, you’ll have everything you need to wear and use to cleanse yourself in one place and you’ll be able to get yourself together when needed, and have a semi-normal life when things are topsy turvy.
2 – Use trash bags and rubber bands to pack your closet. Clothes are heavy. Clothes are bulky. Clothes are no fun to move. But this made it SO much easier – group a bunch of hangers, and wrap the hooks together with rubber bands. Then cut a small hole in the bottom middle of a trash bag, and put it over your rubber-banded-together clothing items, essentially creating a garment bag. It’s a bit of a process, but you can literally hang your clothes up by type or color or whatever, and unpack your closet with just a snip of the scissors. SUCH a great hack. Thank you Buzzfeed!
3 – Put all the television and internet related items that go together in the same place. When you get into your new place, you will want to relax. You’ll want to go online. You’ll want to escape all of the hard work you did on your big moving day. Speaking from recent experience, make sure you have ALL your TV and internet stuff together, and call the cable/internet company before you move to set things up. True story, my husband basically ripped our new condo apart in his search for some special power strip device he needs to run the TV. It was in the LAST box we unpacked, a week and a half after the search began. That box was totally unlabeled. o_O
(lesson 3.5 – learn not to actually SAY “I told you so” in these kinds of moments. Just say it with your eyes. One look can convey so much).
4 – Pack your bath mat, bath towels, and things to take a bath with in a bag you can find easily. Because at the end of moving day, you WILL want to take a bath. When you’re sweaty and tired and all done moving, you’ll want to feel clean and refreshed in your new place. This is why having all your bath stuff in one easy to locate box or bag is essential. Setting up your bath mat, towels and everything you need to be clean is quick and easy and offers instant gratification after a day that will feel like the world’s longest.
5 – Stock your freezer with frozen food and stock your fridge with whatever you need for dinner, breakfast and healthy snacks. Also, paper plates and plastic cups. You’re in your new place. You’re all moved in for the moment, too tired to unpack. Here’s what you will want, in order. Clean, cool water and your other favorite beverages to drink. Some kind of hot meal. Snacks to pull you through. Easy to make food items that will prevent you from having to order in and deal with the hassle of dealing with preparing a meal when all you want is to shovel food in your face before you fall asleep.
Here’s a bonus tip for you – you’ve got TIME. Now that you’re in your new place, don’t drain your energy by thinking you have to unpack everything immediately. You can unpack at your own pace and be strategic about which rooms need to be together first. I recommend beginning with the kitchen!
CONGRATS on your big move. I hope my tips are helpful! What are YOUR best packing and moving tips?
“Say it with your eyes.” — hilarious. This is a great post. I’m currently looking for a new space now and have been mentally trying to organize the most efficient and pain free move. I agree that it’s the worst but something that has to be done. Good luck to you and congrats on your new home! I look forward to reading more in your new column.
This helped a lot, I’m moving in 10 days and haven’t even started. It’s 3 years worth of stuff *loud sigh* I’m going room by room to get things done
This is a great article! Congrats on the move and becoming homeowners!
My wife and I just moved into our new house, and I have a new favorite packing and moving tip. When labeling moving boxes, write on the top, middle, and at least two sides of the box! When you have a room full of moving boxes packed on top of each other in a room, you’ll be glad that you don’t have to move any of them just to see what’s inside!
These are helpful tips! The one that I’ve heard to be helpful is if you have time to purge your apt/house/living space before you move. this way you’re not taking things with you that you know you don’t want. notice i said I’ve heard it to be helpful–i’ve never taken my own advice, lol!
On point! Thanks for the real deal! When I saw the title I (please forgive me) immediately thought of the same old same old that you read everywhere about labeling boxes etc. Once again you have proven yourself Afrobella! You hit the nail on the head! I really appreciate these tips and will keep them in mind when my lease is up at the end of October.
Great read and very informative and on point.
Thanks for this.
Congratulations on your accomplishing your recent move my dear. I’ve moved three times in the past four years…so I totally feel you. The clothes together on hangers is a good one, I always do that – then just hang them up in the new place. 🙂
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My advice is – try and repaint (or do similar jobs) before you move in. It’s so much easier to repaint/sand floors/get carpets cleaned before you have furniture in than wait until 6 months later and have to move all you clothes around.
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A very good post, nice tips Afrobella. For those that are just miserable when it is time to move, try starting a few weeks in advance in regards to packing, assuming time permits that. Doing a little daily definitely beats DIY a few days before or on moving day. Doing a little can take a lot of stress away from the moving process.
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